DShomshak

I hope you're right. Paradoxically, defeating Russia might require convincing the people around Putin that Russia will not be defeated so completely that its territorial integrity will be at stake. NATO tanks rolling over the border into Russia? At that point, I'd expect a nuclear response. Russia hemmed in, left to rot until Putin dies (by whatever means) and the new regime decides it'd like to rejoin the world? That may be the best we can do. It doesn't give justice for the people of Ukraine, but they may have to settle for living well. Dean Shomshak

Heard on The Daily yesterday: Ukrainian soldiers are already being flown out of the country to be trained on NATO weaponry, so they can train the rest of the Ukrainian military. NATO's running out of old Soviet/Russian castoffs, but that's only been a stopgap. The plan is to make Ukraine's military "fully inter-operable" with NATO.

I suspect the nuclear bluster from Putin and Lavrov hints that *they* fear losing, and how *badly* they might lose. That maybe they *can't* just write off Russia's losses, keep slogging away, and win something through sheer persistence and numbers. Yes, I find that hint of desperation terrifying. But reducing the aid to Ukraine could be just as dangerous as maintaining and increasing it. Dean Shomshak

Speaking of Ukraine's intelligence on Russian movements... Today's All Things Considered had a story on one important source the Russians seem unwilling or incapable of doing anything about: Cell phones. When Russia invaded, soldiers of all ranks carried cell [hones. Ukrtaine had the country's service providers block service to any phone registered as Russian. Oops, the Russian generals don't seem to have thought of that. No problem: They take cell phones from Ukrainians. If those Ukrainians are still alive, they report the stolen phone to their service provider and the government, which then knows whch numbers and signals to listen in on. The Russians don't seem willing or able to set up their own secure communications system. As Judge Judy would say, "Stupid stupid, stupid!" Dean Shomshak

Addendum to above: Could this be malicious compliance? IE, somebody in the FSB does not approve of the invasion of Ukraine (whether morally or just from recognizing that it's a fiasco and the longer it goes on, the worse the damage to Russia). They are sabotaging the hoax while pretending to follow orders... to the letter. I mean, sure, Occam's Razor. When something seems to be done by an idiot, the simplest explanation is that it was done bhy an idiot. But I remain open to other possibilities. Dean Shomshak

The article mentioned the online group Bellingcat. By coincidence, yesterday's All Things Considered interviewed the maker of a documentary about Alexei Navalny. You may recall that Bellingcat found the chemist who cooked up the poison used against Mr Navalny, and that Navalny called the man, pretending to be an FSB agent involved in the failed plot. The director was actually present at that scene and filmed it: You can see it in the documentary. Like LL, the director pointed out then that, yeah, Russia's reputation for incredible spycraft may not be deserved. Not that it takes great skill to murder civilians as they go about their lives, which seems to be the FSB's forte in foreign operations. Shoot or poison, then run back to Russia. (Or killing the chemist to whom Mr Navalny spoke -- the director noted that the man seems to have disappeared several months ago.) Now, if it's actually a Ukrainian setup to make the FSB look dumb, it's brilliant. But I find it easier to believe the FSB really has people who are that stupid. Dean Shomshak

I meant that I don't see the advantage in deliberately prolonging the Ukraine war as a way of tying up Russia, which apparently some people thing is the plan. If NATO & allies can turn the Ukraine invasion into a humiliating and catastrophic defeat for Russia, without firing a shot themselves, doing it quickly might make a better show of power than dragging it out just to show we're willing to keep going that long. If it becomes a direct shooting war between Russia and NATO, well, that's a whole different calculation. The issue also has articles on escalation and nuclear strategy, but that's a whole other discussion. Dean Shomshak

Beat me to it! Yeah, that's pretty much how I'd do it too, except I wouldn't bother with the Extra Limb. You still have to strap on the bag, or carry the handle, or whatever. Reviewing the Bag of Holding description in the 5e DMG, what does it do? It lets you carry around 500 pounds of stuff, without the exertion and encumbrance of carrying around 500 pounds of stuff. 500 pounds works out to 16 STR, separate from the STR of whoever carries the bag, and 0 END. It's an Inobvious Focus, to represent that people don't see that you're carrying around up to 500 pounds of stuff with no apparent effort. The other restrictions -- everything has to fit through the mouth of the bag, nothing can be more than 4 feet in any dimension, maximum total volume of 64 cubic feet, ripping the bag results in the contents being lost in the Astral Plane -- add up to another Limitation, probably not more than -1/2. (Okay, you might want to remove the "Losing stuff on the Astral Plane" aspect. In a Champions campaign, I can see PCs deciding they're willing to lose their Bag of Holding in order to quickly and easily dispose of the bad guy's suitcase nuke, or the like. If the PCs can make or obtain more Bags of Holding, that would actually be a useful Power for which they'd need to pay points.) The "Extra-Dimensional Space" Power may represent the whole thing most precisely. (And I'd probably insist upon it for a Portable Hole.) But if you don't have the APG books, the essence of a Bag of Holding is just that it makes it easier to carry a lot of stuff. As Hotspur says, the rest is mostly just special effects. Dean Shomshak

The Russia-China entanglement was the cover story for the March 19, 2022 issue of The Economist. Their analysis is that Xi Jinping finds Putin and his war useful as a tool to gauge the power and resolve of the West in general, and the US in particular, as a guide for his own geopolitical strategy -- and as a tool to weaken American power. As such, they suggest how the US responds to Putin's invasion is a way of dealing with Chinese ambitions. If the alliance to support Ukraine goes wobbly, Xi may conclude that he can afford the price to move against Taiwan or ramp up his bullying of other East Asian neighbors. Conversely, if the US, NATO and further allies back Ukraine to the degree of dealing Russia a catastrophic defeat -- its military exhausted and humiliated, its economy shattered, and Putin possibly deposed and dead -- why, Xi will decide he needs to play a longer game in his quest to seize primacy from the US. It seems to me that by this logic, the swifter Russia's defeat, the better for curbing China. Dean Shomshak

Update: After I posted above re: Russia's history with the Mongols, I heard today's episode of "The Daily" radio show about Putin's recent speeches. And yep, Putin is playing the "Horde Card": Russia is surrounded by enemies fanatically determined to invade and annihilate it. Plus a hint of Stalin, in warning of the need to find and neutralize internal traitors -- defined as anyone who is not fully in support of his government and the invasion "special military action" in Ukraine. And the Russian people are falling into line. Majority public opinion has shifted from disbelief in the war to enthusiastic endorsement of invading Ukraine. There are already incidents of people being denounced to the police for expressing doubt about the official war narrative: They talked to a schoolteacher on Sakhalin Island who showed her students a You/tube video of children singing a song about peace in Russian and Ukrainian. Many of her 8th graders were outraged. The police soon arrested her; she was tried and convicted under a new law that punishes any speech deemed to disparage the military; and fined the equivalent of $400... more than a month's wages. She says she won't shut up, though. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/podcasts/the-daily/putin-russia-ukraine.html Dean Shomshak

Possibly of interest: Military historian and, I am told, conservative pundit (though I no longer know what "conservative" means, post-Trump) Max Boot wrote this op-ed for the Washington Post on the difference between Russian and Ukrainian military culture. Particularly of note, citation of an 1854 The Economist article on Russian failures in the Crimean War that well describe the Russian army today. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/12/ukraine-military-culture-advantage-over-russia/ Dean Shomshak

My Russian History professor said the Mongol conquest was the single most important event in shaping the Russian worldview, especially in foreign relations. As he put it, more or less: Deep in the Russian imagination, the Horde is always coming. The face and flag changes -- Teutonic Knights, Mongols, Germans (repeatedly), Napoleon's French; Americans (among others) in the Russian Civil War; now NATO (in Putin's telling); but it is always the Horde. The Horde has no mercy, so neither can you. And the "Tatar Yoke" lasted more than 200 years! Those centuries of brutal absolutism shaped Russian ideas of what power looks like. See: Ivan the Terrible. Yes, Ivan the Terrible was a maniac prone to outbursts of homicidal rage, to the point of killing his own son, but he beat the Mongols and freed Russia. Which is why Western folk err in translating Ivan's epithet as "the Terrible." Russians mean "the Awesome." Of course he's frightening! That shows how great he is! Or Stalin: Yes, he killed millions of his subjects in his purges and forced collectivization, but he beat the Horde when it came in the guise of Nazis. So for many Ruddians, he's still a great leader. So I do not expect Putin to scruple at, well, anything. Dean Shomshak

This is long, but IMO worth it. Academic who studoes corrup;tion assesses the US, China and (for the updated edition) Russia. Biggest takeaway: There are multiple forms of corruption, causing harm in different ways. If you want to reduce corruption, first you need to know what forms of corruption actually take place. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-the-u-s-really-less-corrupt-than-china-and-how-about-russia-update/ Insight from the update: The oligarchs who rule/own Russia never had much reason to care about sanctions, and still don't. China is in a very different situation. (Sanctions might be difficult, but they would be different difficulties.) Dean Shomshak

Ah, thanks for the names. (It's been a while since I ran the adventure.) Dean Shomshak

I don't really have anything useful to add, but when I set an adventure in Pittsburgh, just a couple tour guidebooks from my local library convinced me it's an excellent city for supers. Multiple world-class research universities, always reliable sources for characters and scenarios. One of which has the Cathedral of Learning, which is not only a cool setting for a super-scenario, it could also go in the old "Real Locations That Could Be Fantasy" thread. The PPG company HQ, which one guidebook described as resembling Superman's crystalline Fortress of Solitude. At least one of the surrounding mountains is riddled with old coal mines, ready for villains, monsters, or Mole People to inhabit. Cable cars. A histpory combining immense wealth, post-industrial blight with attendant crime, and a dazzling renaissance (but some of the old "bad parts of town" might still be there). It all worked out really, really well! If that campaign ever re-starts, I may have to send the PCback for another visit. Dean Shomshak

According to the report on All Things Considered, Russian state media denies that Ukraine sank the Moskva using a pair of "Neptune" missiles. They say it was an accidental fire that reached the ship's ammo stores. Is this claim supposed to make Russia's military look better? Dean Shomshak

In my old "Seattle Sentinels" campaign, I wrote occasional "news of the world" handouts about what other heroes and villains were doing, including taking current events and "superizing" them. What Steve Long described is pretty much how I handled 9/11: It happened as in the real world, but superheroes (and not a few super-criminals) responded to help pu;ll pweople from the wreckage of the towers. Because as in the real world, for a brief moment old rivalries didn't seem to matter. I absolutely would *not* have PCs get involved in the Ukraine War *directly.* That would be in appallingly bad taste. But Putin's government has shown its unbridled villainy. There's a long history in comics of superheroes fighting supervillains who explicitly work for hostile and evil governments. Putin's government now qualifies. Putin has also said repeatedly that he views NATO and the West in general, and the US in particular, as his real enemy. Just as Golden Age comic book characters fought Axis villains, it does not seem out of line to me for PCs to fight Russian supervillains sent by Putin to cause trouble in the PCs' home countries. (Though players' mileage may vary. I would still recommend asking first where they want you to draw the line between reality and fantasy.) Dean Shomshak

As it happens, one of my friends has been tinkering with his own D20-based superhero game for some time. The playtest we did of the first version was too brief, really, to assess it, but we had a bit of fun. He's been noodling with a revised version based on what was learned, though, and promises that someday we will play it again. I look forward to it, as his previous design experiments have worked well. Dean Shomshak

I found most of TNG rather forgettable. With a few, such as "Code of Honor" and "Sub Rosa," that I wish I could forget. But I liked "Devil's Due" very much. Even after repeated meetings with Q, and presumably knowledge of all the super-aliens from TOS, Picard remains skeptical -- and cracks the fraud. Also good as an exploration of just what could be possible if some clever person put together the various technologies established in the setting. I would like to have seen "Ardra" return in another episode. I forget the name and I'm too lazy to look it up, but the episode in which an accident leaves the primitive vulcanoid villagers thinking Picard is God. So many times in TOS, the Prime Directive was brought up only so Kirk could explain why it didn't apply. Nice to see Picard take it seriously -- and show how far he'd go, and risk personally, to fix the damage and uphold the principle. Dean Shomshak

For the April 2, 2022 issues of The Economist, the cover shows a picture of Pres. Zelensky with the caption, "Why Ukraine must win." The lead article is about their interview with Zelensky, sharply drawing the contrast between him and Putin. Here are the last three paragraphs, which may offer some hope: Well, I hope so. Dean Shomshak

Tolkien knew the tropes of myth and epic legend, and used them in constructing Middle-Earth. But he was also both a devout Catholic and a modern writer, so he was ready and willing to subvert those tropes. Deconstruction before deconstruction was a thing. 😉 So yes, the Great and the Wise (but Not Wise Enough) have ignored hobbits and never recorded their history because it wasn't a history of heroes and battles. But the standards of God confound the Wise and humble the Mighty. Dean Shomshak

For my "Fantasy Europe" alternate-history Fantasy Hero Campaign, I did a version of hobbits but they never came up in play. For this I emphasized the "Hidden Small Folk" trope, owing more to Pliny by way of Robert E. Howard that to J. R. R. Tolkien. (Though in the introduction to The Hobbit Tolkien said hobbits were still around, just staying out of sight from clumsy Big Folk.) Humans called them Pygmies, or Picts. They took care to stay hidden, still living underground. They are still Stone Age folk, wielding spears, bows and arrows with points of chipped flint, and practicing their sacred rites in deep caves with paintings on the walls. Their lore-masters know much that Big Folk have forgotten or never knew. Their demons are the Unreborn, souls grown monstrous through refusal to submit to the cycle of reincarnation. Some pygmies, however, resent the Big Folk who supplanted them. They form terrorist bands, using stealth, poison and dark magic drawn from the Unreborn to murder isolated communities of Big Folk... or, sometimes, entire neighborhoods of cities. They are called Goblins, and are justly feared. Dean Shomshak

There are halflings in my "Magozoic" D&D campaign because it's a D&D campaign. I treat them mostly as just small humans. I have had no reason to develop their cultures to any great degree, in part because no one has yet asked to play one. There are multiple halfling ethnicities. Halflings native to the heartlands of the Plenary Empire are called Leptopoda ("Lightfoots" -- no Stout subrace because their poison resistance schtick overlaps too much with dwarves.) Your basic peaceful agrarian folk, living in smallish hill areas with subterranean homes. Probably the most notable feature is that their gods form a divine village rather than the divine royal family so common among human cultures. There's no King of the Gods, there's a Mayor of the Gods. Other gods have similarly homely roles: shepherdess, wise old granny, artisans, farmers. No warriors or other "hero" types. Myths emphasize quick thinking and good sense, and usually end with everyone sitting down to a good dinner in good humor. Many Leptopoda have moved into human cities and assimilate well. The Laterculi ("Bricklings" -- not their name for themselves) come from arid western lands that used to be part of the Plenary Empire, where they built pueblo-like adobe villages in oases. A long history of attacks from desert raiders made them clannish and suspicious of outsiders. They did not assimilate particularly well. The chief result of their becoming part of the Plenary Empire was to generate a national consciousness that they, as a whole, didn't belong in it. They got their wish when the western provinces broke away in the chaos following Panopticon's War. Then the Sorathite zealots returned from their long exile in the far west, conquered the whole regions, and gave the Laterculi the same choice they gave everyone else: convert or die. Plenary cities now have ghettoes of Laterculi refugees who still show no interest in assimilating. Distant lands have their own halfling cultures. The port city of Thalassene has a small enclave of halflings from Vohai. Vohinese halflings have dark brown skin and straight black hair, often worn long in elaborate braids. These equatorial halflings introduced the Plenary Empire both to choolate and curry (Vohai is a major source of spices). Every lunch counter in Thalassene now includes a curry booth. Everyone knows, though, that for the very best curry you have to know someone in Little Vohai. Dean Shomshak

I still consider Classic Enemies the gold standard for Enemies books. Scott took characters, most of whose brief initial descriptions didn't go much beyond, "Embittered, he turned to a life of crime," and made them, well, characters. Rest in peace, Mr. Bennie. DEan Shomshak

For particularly decadent societies, or especially mad tyrants, the Game of Death first introduced by Edgar Rice Burroughs in, IIRC, Chessmen of Mars. Gladiatorial combat structured as a chess game (or analog), with gladiators as the living pieces and the arena as the board. Two players order the gladiators around. When one gladiator moves into another's square, they fight to the death. One of the requirements is unfortunate: The Master of the Games needs a smackdown-hammer big enough that the captured PCs can be compelled to go along with the game instead of saying "Screw this" and trying to fight everyone at once. Or, well, some reason that a pack of egotistical murder hobos (and their player) will play along. (At least until the equally traditional slave revolt, when the heroes persuade the other gladiators to break their chains and turn on their debauched and evil masters.) Dean Shomshak